[quote=“Suara Keadilan”]Soi Lek re-investigated by police, supporters and civil society slam gutter politics
MCA deputy president Chua Soi Lek is the latest politician in Malaysia to fall victim to gutter politics - and for the former Health Minister, this is the second time too.
I told the police it is the same tape as I have identified in January last year, Soi Lek said in a statement issued this afternoon. I will give my fullest cooperation to the police.
Despite resigning all posts early last year after the tape first surfaced, the capable Soi Lek still managed to swing enough support to win the second highest post in the MCA.
And this despite a public chiding from an antagonistic president, Ong Tee Keat, during party polls last October.
But will Soi Leks supporters still back him this time, when the police are re-investigating the tape.
According to him, his political foes were trying to continue to discredit me, to threaten and cow me into silence.
Speculation has been rife that his camp was planning to oust Tee Keat by tabling a vote of no-confidence against the latter, who has made himself unpopular with his pompous ways.
I dont understand why there must be a re-investigation if it is the same tape. It just goes to confirm again Malaysia Boleh!. Anything can happen as long as you have the right political pull, said a political analyst.
Said Ramon Navaratnam, president of Transparency International: We must not allow ourselves to get into this kind of morass, otherwise foreign investors will get put off from coming here to invest.
If the politicians do not desist, then this morass will deepen and it will not be just political but also social, because the institutions are now becoming involved. This has to be resolved quickly.
Umno and MCA - a growing spring of gutter politics
According to news reports, Selangor Criminal Investigation Department chief Hasnan Hassan said that police were investigating the sex DVD under section 377(A) of the Penal Code.
Not only will the police be going after those who circulated the tape, but they may this time charge Soi Lek, who if found guilty can be jailed for up to 20 years.
The scandal resurfaced two weeks ago after a Kelana Jaya resident discovered in his mailbox an envelope containing a DVD and a letter, which instructed the recipient to lodge a police report after watching the video.
The video, which featured Soi Lek and a woman having sex in a hotel suite, first emerged in Johor in December 2007.
I am sure that there are many people who are afraid of the reshuffle in MCA, and they are the ones who will want to sabotage my career by reminding the public of my past mistakes, said Soi Lek.
Said Tian Chua, information chief of KeADILan: This is quite obviously a malicious act to kill Soi Leks political comeback. Nobody likes a person who cheats on his partner, but nobody likes dirty, gutter politics either. My sense is the Malaysian public is fed up of this sort of deceitful, below-the-belt type of mentality.
I wont be surprised if the lash-back is greater against Tee Keat rather than Soi Lek.[/quote]